Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Churchill, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer

(Encyclopedia)Churchill, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer, 1849–95, English statesman; son of the 7th duke of Marlborough. A sincere Tory and a founder (1883) of the Primrose League, dedicated to upholding national in...

Martin, Joseph William

(Encyclopedia)Martin, Joseph William, 1884–1968, American politician, Speaker of the House of Representatives (1947–49, 1953–55), b. North Attleboro, Mass. He was a reporter (1902–8) for several newspapers ...

Martin, Micheál

(Encyclopedia)Martin, Micheál, 1960–, Irish political leader. He briefly taught history before being elected (1985) to the Cork local government, and served (1992–93) as lord mayor of the city. A member of Fia...

Golding, William

(Encyclopedia)Golding, William (Sir William Gerald Golding), 1911–93, English novelist, grad. Oxford (B.A. 1934). Praised for his highly imaginative and original writings, Golding was basically concerned with the...

Fisher, John

(Encyclopedia)Fisher, John (Saint John Fisher), c.1469–1535, English prelate, cardinal, bishop of Rochester (1504–34). Known for his scholarship at Cambridge, he was chosen confessor to Margaret Beaufort, mothe...

spire

(Encyclopedia)spire, high, tapering structure crowning a tower and having a general pyramidal outline. The simplest spires were the steeply pitched timber roofs capping Romanesque towers and campaniles. In later Ro...

Martin v. Hunter's Lessee

(Encyclopedia)Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, case decided in 1816 by the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1779 to 1785, Virginia passed a series of laws by which the state confiscated all lands owned by foreigners. David Hunte...

Klaproth, Martin Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Klaproth, Martin Heinrich märˈtēn hīnˈrĭkh kläpˈrōt [key], 1743–1817, German chemist. He is often referred to as the father of analytic chemistry. He recognized (1789) the presence of zirco...

Northwest Territories

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Northwest Territories, territory (2001 pop. 37,360), 532,643 sq mi (1,379,028 sq km), NW Canada. The Northwest Territories lie W of Nunavut, N of lat. 60°N, and E of Yukon. Until 1999, when th...
 

Browse by Subject